The Midway series is proving a boon for Kembla Grange trainer Kerry Parker, whose five-year-old gelding Tampering claimed his second Midway in last Saturday’s 1600-metre benchmark 72 edition at the Newcastle metropolitan meeting.
Jockey Hugh Bowman quickly settled Tampering ($4.80) in third spot on the fence, where, protected from a strong wind, the gelding enjoyed an easy run.
Pulled out to make his run at the 300-metre mark, Tampering finished the race off strongly to defeat $4.20 favourite Harvey’s Way by a length and a quarter, with Cream Rises a length away in third.
“Kerry demanded I didn’t push Tampering early as he can overdo it but Tommy (Berry) rolled along at a decent tempo and we got into a nice rhythm in behind the leader,” Bowman said.
“I think being held up for a little while helped me. Cream Rises was outside of my horse and holding on but I didn’t feel he could go with me, so I waited until I didn’t have to push my way out and that helped my horse stay balanced.”
Parker said Tampering, who won a 1600-metre Midway at Randwick on August 21, four starts earlier, was having a “terrific” preparation.
 “These Midways are a big help for a horse like him. He’d struggled in town when racing against the ‘big boys’ so the grade drop helps him.
“He’s nice and competitive in the Midways — they’ve been a really good target for him.”
Power up
Scone trainer Brett Cavanough believes last Saturday’s impressive TAB Highway Handicap winner Street Power has the potential to become a Country Championships contender.
Ridden by Jason Collett and starting a $6 equal favourite, Street Power settled in second place before hitting the front at the 250metre mark and going on to record a comfortable two-length win over Shelby Sixtysix, with Casino Kid a half-neck away in third.
“He just needs to mature,” Cavanough said. “He’s just got it wrong a couple of times.
“At home he’s a superstar and I thought he was my Kosciuszko wildcard but he didn’t get it right — or maybe I got it wrong and he was right — but what we’re doing now is working.
“If he gets it right, based on his work at home on the E-Tracker, he could be a black-type horse. I’ve just got to develop him, that’s the secret.
“He’s a Country Championships horse. He ran 1300 metres today and it’s only another 100 metres so he’ll stretch out. He’s bred to go a mile and further.”
Collett too was impressed by the win.
“He’s a lovely horse. He had control of that race a long way out. It was pretty easy,” he said.
Four and out for Bliss
Local mare Norwegian Bliss maintained her unbeaten record at the Newcastle meeting, bringing up her fourth win in the 1400-metre benchmark 78.
Trainer Nathan Doyle announced after the win that the four-year-old, who debuted at Port Macquarie on September 26, would now be spelled.
“It’s her first racing preparation and she’s going to be a better mare when she comes back,” he said.
“We’ll just take her through her grades. She’s a Saturday winner now but I think there’s better things in store for her. She’s a mare so black type will be her target.”
Winning jockey Andrew Adkins was also impressed with the $3.70 favourite’s win.
“She’s some athlete, that’s for sure. She’s come from country to Saturday metro in one preparation so it’s some effort and Nathan’s produced an awesome training performance,” he said.
Dylan outdoes dad
Newcastle apprentice Dylan Gibbons, son of senior jockey Andrew, had never ridden at a Saturday metropolitan meeting prior to last weekend’s at his home track, but left the course as a group-winning jockey after riding the Matthew Smith-trained filly Festival Dancer to victory in the Group 3 Spring Stakes (1600m).
“Dad has only had a listed winner so I’m ahead of him now. That’s something I’ve got on him,” said an excited Gibbons, who had never ridden a horse until he was 16 and only had his first race ride in July last year. He is now 20.
“This is something I always dreamed about as a kid, these big moments. I have my grandparents here, my partner is up in the stables working and my parents are home watching, so it can’t be any better.”
For his part, Smith was happy to use the apprentice in a non-claiming race.
“Dylan is a great young fellow and we have a great association. He suits my horses, the way he rides them. He doesn’t rush them and that’s the way I train them,” he said.
Olive on fire
Canberra trainer Nick Olive dominated last Friday’s Gundagai Showcase, winning three races including the feature $100,000 Snake Gully Cup (1400m) with $3.70 favourite Ready To Humble, ridden by Jeff Penza.
Olive’s earlier wins included the $50,000 Country Magic (1400m) with Sly Song ($11) ridden by Brendan Ward.
Goulburn trainer Scott Collings also completed a treble when Bombdiggity ($11), ridden by apprentice Amy McLucas, took out the final race on the program, the $50,000 Snake Gully Flying (1000m).
Sadly that was it for the Gundagai carnival. Heavy, widespread rains saw Saturday’s Hair of the Dog card washed out along with meetings scheduled for Kembla Grange and Bathurst.
Whopper weekend
Saturday it’s the Illawarra Turf Club’s turn to take centre stage, with its metropolitan meeting featuring The Gong (1600m, $1 million) and The Warra (1000m, $300,000).
At Gosford the same day, the main race will be the 1600-metre heat of the Summer Provincial Series while Inverell puts on the Bush Battlers’ Cup (1400m) and Diggers’ Cup (1800m).
The non-TAB meeting at Bowraville features the Macksville Cup.
On Sunday both the Manning Valley Race Club and the Queanbeyan Race Club will conduct Showcase meetings.
The highlight of the MVRC meeting at Taree will be the $100,000 Taree Cup (2000m) with the main supporting race the $50,000 Country Magic (1250m).
At Queanbeyan, the $45,000 Queanbeyan Cup (2000 metres) will be the feature race.
Friday’s Bong Bong Picnic Cup meeting has been abandoned.